Aby King, pictured with her Cocker Spaniel Lilly, was inspired to write a fictional book based on the Duke and Duchess' dog Lupo - published this week

It is set to be the new royal bestseller; a riproaring tale of the adventures of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge’s Cocker Spaniel Lupo.

But behind the uplifting story of how cheeky Lupo does battle with the Queen’s corgi, Vulcan, lies a tale of personal tragedy.

Aby King, a former actress and model whose first book The Adventures of Lupo the Royal Dog: The Secret of Windsor Castle is published this week, was inspired to write it following the loss of her fiance, Mark Sebire, a property developer who took his own life shortly before their planned wedding.

She took long walks in London’s parks to help her cope with the loss and it was while walking through Kensington Palace gardens with her own Cocker Spaniel, Lilly, that Aby had the lightning idea for her book.

‘I’ve always wondered what was inside those palaces and one day when we were walking, Lilly bolted inside. I ran after her and two lovely guards came out with her. She looked very pleased with herself,’ she said.

‘The royal family inhabits a ‘secret’ behind-closed-doors world we never really get to see. I started to think about life as a royal pup, with palaces and parks at your disposal. I saw the scope for mystery and adventure - secret passageways, tunnels and portals to other times.

‘A terrific picture implanted itself in my mind of the Royal couple walking down a beach and Lupo running in the wash and he just looked like this incredibly happy, fun dog and all those things just came together in that moment of Lilly running around in the palace gardens.’

The Duchess received the dog as an early Christmas present from her parents in 2011 after he was bred from their family dog, Ella.

Aby now plans a series of adventures for Lupo after Hodder Children’s Books, signed her up in a four book deal and described the series as a ‘One Hundred and One Dalmatians for today’s readers’. Negotiations are already under way for the film rights and American rights.

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Aby, 37, credits her dog Lilly, for the idea, but she also says she was inspired to complete the book by her own personal tragedy.

In 2008 her fiancée, Mark shot himself just five weeks before their wedding amid the collapse of his business empire. He was 36 and had been suffering from depression. Aby says: ‘Suicide is like a bomb exploding. Because the person who dies leaves injured people all around them, suffering incredible pain and grief.

‘You naturally look for someone to blame. Mentally I accused every-one-creditors, Mark’s friends, even my own family - for not supporting us both more. Then I blamed myself. I was tortured about why I hadn’t seen that he was in such a state of emotional crisis.’

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge pictured with son Prince George and their Cocker Spaniel Lupo in 2013

Lupo was given to the Duchess as an early Christmas present from her parents in 2011 - he features in this portrait with the Royal couple and their son Prince George at Kensington Palace in March 2014

It was Lilly who comforted Aby through the bleak tragedy. After Mark’s death, Aby decided a puppy would help soothe her grief. It seemed portentous that the cocker Spaniel was born the day before the funeral. ‘It was a beacon of hope,’ Aby says. ‘The minute I got her she was the strangest thing. When I first took her home I put her on my lap and she put both her paws on my shoulders. Dogs are incredible for depression they really pep you up and in grief she really gave me a reason to keep trudging forward. .

‘She pretty much saved my life. I just remember thinking that night how lucky I was to have this little beacon of hope, because I had to take care of it. I couldn’t just wilt away, which is what I wanted to do. I had to get out of bed and walk it, feed it, take care of it and keep going.

The Adventures of Lupo the Royal Dog: The Secret of Windsor Castle by Aby King is published this week

‘She really pulled me through. She kept me alive. Otherwise I think I would have just crumbled. She is still keeping me going. Without Lilly I don’t think I would have made it, in some very dark and sad times she was amazing.’

The death of her fiance came as a particular blow to Aby because her mother Linda King, a successful model and actress in the 1960s, died of leukaemia when Aby was just 14.

Aby says: ‘She was very sick. I didn’t really know what it was, and she didn’t really want us to know about it. She was determined to beat it. She fought very hard for a very long time, had endless rounds of chemotherapy. Can you imagine being this beautiful woman, come out of a divorce, want to build this wonderful future and it just went horribly wrong.

‘She did everything she could to fight it, she set up a charity called the Children’s Leukaemia Trust, she loved children, loved babies. Sarah, Duchess of York, became a huge source of support to the charity which meant a lot to my mother. She was very very helpful and once told me: 'Your mother is an incredible woman, she is so courageous, don’t ever forget that”.’

After her mother’s death in 1991 Aby and her younger brother, Oliver, went to live with their father. He later married a woman with royal connections. ‘My stepmother Rosemary King, has judged horses all over the world, and she’s an incredible woman. She worked with Princess Anne and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall. She and my dad hosted hunt balls at our house in Gloucestershire.’

Inspired by Enid Blyton’s, The Magic Faraway Tree, she started scribbling fantasy and adventure stories as a schoolgirl - despite being diagnosed as dyslexic.

So when she came up with the idea of The Adventures of Lupo, she knew she owed it to herself to see the project through. ‘I sat down to write and it was amazing how quickly it tumbled out, it was like I was destined to do it. During a tour of Windsor Castle it just all came together. I could feel it and the whole story just mapped out in seconds and it took just a couple of days to write; then a year to perfect it.’

Aby King says she was inspired to write the book after the death of her fiance just weeks before her wedding

She came up with the idea for the book when her own Cocker Spaniel Lilly bolted into Kensington Palace whilst out on a walk. It was Lilly who comforted Aby through the bleak tragedy of her partner Mark's death

In the first story Lupo is out for a walk with Nanny and Prince George in Kensington Gardens when accused of a serious crime he did not commit - an attack on a swan, which are protected under the Queen’s charter. In his efforts to prove his innocence, he crosses paths with a villainous corgi called Vulcan.

Although several members of the Royal Family appear in the books, the focus is on the animals and their adventures. ‘It’s not about the Royal family as such, they are only mentioned fleetingly,’ says Aby. ‘I actually think the animals are far more interesting. But at the heart of these stories is the loyal bond between Lupo and the baby prince. I hope when he’s older his parents will read the books to him.’

‘Lupo and the Secret of Windsor Castle’ out on 4 September (Hodder) www.theadventuresoflupo.com

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